David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947) is an
American television host and
comedian.
He hosts the
late night television talk show,
Late Show with David Letterman broadcast on
CBS. Letterman has been a fixture on late night television since the 1982 debut of
Late Night with David Letterman. Only Letterman's friend and mentor
Johnny Carson has had a longer late-night hosting career.
Letterman is also a television and film producer. His company
Worldwide Pants produces his show as well as its network followup
The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson. Worldwide Pants has also produced several prime-time comedies, the most successful of which was
Everybody Loves Raymond, currently in
syndication.
Early life and career
Letterman was born in
Indianapolis, Indiana. His father, Harry Joseph Letterman (April 1915 - February 1973),
[Social Security Death Index] was a florist; his mother
Dorothy Letterman (
née Hofert, now Dorothy Mengering), a
Presbyterian church secretary of
German descent, is an occasional figure on the show, usually at holidays and birthdays. He has an older sister Janice and a younger sister Gretchen.
